


Our Future

by emdaro



Category: Newsies (1992), Newsies - All Media Types, Newsies!: the Musical - Fierstein/Menken
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Lack of Communication, M/M, One Night Stands, Pregnancy, Pregnancy Scares, Trust Issues, Unplanned Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-11
Updated: 2017-09-11
Packaged: 2018-12-26 15:49:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,831
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12062151
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emdaro/pseuds/emdaro
Summary: “Alright, alright, calm down. I…I’ve got some news.” Spot shifted on the couch, fixing his gaze on the coffee table. “I…I’ve got a kid.”There was silence for a few moments, then Jack finally spoke. “A…kid? Like a child?”“No, like a goat.” Spot snapped.





	Our Future

Spot couldn’t breathe.

Three words and everything had come crashing down around him. _He’s yours, Sean._ Oh shit. Shit, shit, shit, fuck. This was bad, beyond bad. It had been over a year ago, a one night stand that had ended with Spot realizing he was definitely gay. He and Race had gotten together just a week later. He hadn’t thought about the girl much after, Amy was her name. But she had shown up on his doorstep that morning, a little boy clutched in her arms and announcing something that shook Spot to his core.

“I’m not here for money or anything.” Amy was quiet, looking over at the baby who was asleep in his car seat. “I just…I was looking at Noah one day and I realized that he should know his dad. You don’t have to be involved if you don’t want to, but I thought the option should be there.”

Spot’s ears were ringing, it sounded as though Amy was very far away. He was a father. He had a son, Noah. A son who was smaller than one of Spot’s biceps and looked very, very fragile. Spot had never been good with fragile things. What was he supposed to tell the guys? Jack, Crutchie. Katherine was going to kill him, she was always going on about safe sex. Then there was Race. Spot couldn’t even think about telling him. Things were finally good between them. After a couple months of false starts and a few break ups, they were finally in a good place. They had been going strong for seven months. Fuck. This was bad.

“Are…Are you sure?” Spot finally found his voice, wincing as he heard it shake.

Amy looked down. “Yeah. Well, almost.”

“Almost?” His voice rose slightly, but he lowered it again when he saw Noah stir. “This can’t be an almost thing, Amy. This has to be one hundred percent absolutely sure. Aren’t there tests we can do or something?”

Amy hesitated before nodding. “Yeah. I just…there was one other guy it could be. I guess I’m just hoping it’s you.” She laughed weakly.

Spot felt a wave of sympathy for the woman in front of him. The other guy must have been pretty shitty for her to be hoping he was the father. He nodded slowly. “Amy…we’ve still got to do a test. I’ve got to be sure.”

Amy nodded. “I know. I kind of planned for that. Here.” She pulled an envelope out of her bag and handed it to him. “Send it in the mail, alright? The results will be here in a couple days.” She didn’t stay for long after that, they exchanged a few more awkward pleasantries before she gave him her phone number and was out the door. He immediately called reinforcements, sending out a text to Jack, Davey, Crutchie, Katherine, and Sarah. They were all there within the hour, demanding to know what was going on.

“Alright, alright, calm down. I…I’ve got some news.” Spot shifted on the couch, fixing his gaze on the coffee table. “I…I’ve got a kid.”

There was silence for a few moments, then Jack finally spoke. “A…kid? Like a child?”

“No, like a goat.” Spot snapped. He took a deep breath. It wasn’t Jack’s fault he was in this mess and he had dropped everything to come help Spot out. “Sorry. Yeah, a child. His name’s Noah. This girl from a long time ago, before Race and I got together…well, it’s either me or one other guy.”

“Fuck.” Jack again spoke. “Dude, you’re not ready to be a dad.” This was followed by both Crutchie and Katherine smacking him, on the back of the head and shoulder respectively.

“Spot, it’s going to be fine.” Davey’s voice was calm, reassuring. “There are tests that can be done. You don’t know for sure that he’s yours yet.”

“Yeah. Just try and stay calm.” Sarah added, leaning against Katherine. “Plus, even if he is yours…it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world. You’re not nineteen anymore. You’re twenty two and you’ve got a stable job.”

It was true. He had landed a fellowship working for The Wall Street Journal after college and that had led to an actual paying job. He was writing political pieces for them. It wasn’t the highest paying job in the world but it left him with a little extra at the end of the month, once rent and everything else was paid. But he still felt completely lost, he had no idea how to take care of himself much less a child. “Yeah, I guess so.”

“Spot, don’t freak out when I ask you this. But…does he know about the baby?” Crutchie finally spoke, staring at Spot with a stern expression.

Spot’s stomach twisted into knots. “Does who know?”

“Oh, don’t act dumb. Does Race know?” Crutchie replied, his gaze hardening when Spot shook his head. “You told all of us before you told Race?”

“Told Race what?” The man in question stepped into the living room, carrying a pizza box. He set it down on the coffee table. “Spot, why didn’t you tell me they were here? I only brought one pizza.”

“We were just leaving.” Katherine stood up.

“We were?” Jack looked confused until Crutchie grabbed his arm, practically dragging him from the room. The front door clicked shut behind their friends and Race sat on the couch next to Spot, leaning against him.

“That was weird. Everything okay?” Race glanced up at him, pressing a kiss to his jaw softly.

Spot hesitated. He could not tell Race, that would be simple. Put it off until the results of the test came back and then deal with it then. But…their problems in the beginning had been caused by lack of communication. Spot had been working hard to be more honest, a better boyfriend to Race. He couldn’t erase all that. “I have to tell you something.”

Race sat up, turning so he was facing Spot. “Is everything alright?” He sounded guarded, nervous.

“Kind of.” Spot took a deep breath and was cut off before he could speak.

“Did I do something? We haven’t fought in a while. I thought we were doing well.” Race’s voice was calm, with just a hint of a tremor in it. A side effect from the early days of their relationship, when they had shouted unspeakable things at each other and refused to speak for days at a time.

Spot grabbed Race’s hands, shaking his head. “No. _No._ ” He said firmly, brushing their lips together. “You’re fine. Us, we’re good. It’s something else.”

Race relaxed then, squeezing Spot’s hands gently. “What is it then?”

“I…” Spot couldn’t form the words, he didn’t even know how to phrase it. “I…I have a kid.”

Race’s face went blank. “You…You what?”

“I didn’t cheat on you. I hooked up with this girl a long time ago, over a year. Before we were even together. She showed up today and…she told me. It’s between me and this other guy. So I’m not sure that he’s mine but he could be.”

Race was silent for what felt like hours after Spot stopped speaking. Spot was starting to panic. What if Race left him? What if he decided he couldn’t handle it, that Spot was too much work? It was a real possibility. They hadn’t even moved in together yet, though Race did spend most nights at Spot’s apartment.

“He. So it’s a boy. What’s his name?” Race finally spoke, his voice quiet.

Spot was stunned for a moment, then finally scrambled to respond. “A boy, yeah. Um…his name is Noah.”

“Noah. That’s a cute name. He’s got to be like three or four months old, right?”

Spot had no clue, no fucking clue how old the kid was. “I guess.”

“You’re telling me you didn’t even ask how old your son is?” Race rolled his eyes. “Typical. When are you going to see him again?”

Spot shrugged. “I have no idea. I’ve got to send away a cheek swab, so they can test it. Amy said the results should come back in a couple days.”

Race got to his feet. “Alright then. You want to use plates for dinner or just paper towels?” He went to the kitchen, humming some song under his breath.

Spot was frozen for a few moments. He slowly got to his feet and followed Race. “Race. Do you understand what I said?”

Race nodded, taking a swig of his bottle. “Yeah, I do.”

“And you’re not…scared?”

Race snorted. “No, Spot. I’m not.” He sighed and set the bottle down on the counter, walking over to Spot and kissing him softly. “I’ve thought about our future, you know. Some people do think beyond tomorrow.”

Spot’s eyes widened. A future? With him? “You have? Really?”

“Yeah, of course.” Race pulled back slightly, linking their fingers together. “I don’t have it all planned out, but I’ve thought about it. A house, maybe a dog someday. A kid or two. Sounds nice, doesn’t it?”

It did sound nice, coming out of Race’s mouth. Spot could picture it. A little house, not too big or too small. A big dog, maybe a lab or a German shepherd. A kid running around, a miniature version of Race. Katherine or Sarah could be their surrogate. He shook his head, pulling himself out of those thoughts. There was a more pressing issue at hand. “But this isn’t the future. This is now.”

Race shrugged. “Yeah, but that doesn’t mean we aren’t ready. I…I’m not exactly in this just because Spot. I love you.”

They had said it before, but they didn’t make a habit of it. They weren’t Jack and Crutchie, who told each other they loved each other every time they were going to be apart for more than two minutes. It was only used at certain times. When Race was feeling dysphoric or when Spot had gotten his job or their anniversary. This was definitely the right time to use it. Spot leaned closer to Race. “I love you too.”

Race smiled and kissed his forehead, an action that irked Spot to no end because it reminded him how short he was, then pulled away. “Come on, let’s eat. I’m starving.”

Spot glanced at the envelope containing the materials for the test, then walked into the living room. He’d put it in the mail later. One way or another, it would be fine. He had Race and they had a bright future ahead of them, whether or not Noah was his.

Three days later, the results of the test came back negative. Spot wasn’t a father. But he didn’t feel sad about it, like he thought he would. He would be one someday, if Race still wanted a future with him. It was just a matter of time.

 


End file.
